So... having an apprentice meant having lots of responsibility. While Misty was new to this warrior rank herself, she was certainly going to train Berrypaw to be a strong, compassionate member of RiverClan. Over her 30 moons on-off apprenticeship she had experienced a bunch of things. Some had not been that great, such as watching Birdsnow die back then, dying herself, getting kidnapped twice, getting injured too many times... but after her recent return, she changed quite a bit and would now make sure such things didn't happen again. Also, she'd try to protect Berrypaw to the best of her abilities while the young shecat wasn't yet able to fend for herself.
The responsibility of being a mentor almost felt like parenting. Not that she knew what parenting was like, but from what she had seen, it was pretty similar. A young cat to take care of. That's what made up mentorship and parenting, right? Ugh, she kept letting herself get sidetracked. Not important, she sent herself as a reminder and turned her attention back to the present. It was two days after the malcontent battle and she was already in a much better shape.
Her pelt was a silver tabby color once more, not stained by the crimson blood of the two cats she had killed. Maybe she would not tell Berrypaw that for now. Mistyshard did not want to scare her apprentice with the idea of death just yet, they'd not even done a first training session. Today she was mainly planning to get to know Berry more and squeeze some training in there as well. They wouldn't rush anything; they still had plenty of time.
The warrior came to a halt in front of Berrypaw's nest and let out a gentle purr. As long as her apprentice was respectful and kind, she would be nice too. There was another side of Mistyshard for sure, but that did not need to be revealed if not called for. "Berry, it's time for your first training session," she mewed in a semi loud tone.
So... having an apprentice meant having lots of responsibility. While Misty was new to this warrior rank herself, she was certainly going to train Berrypaw to be a strong, compassionate member of RiverClan. Over her 30 moons on-off apprenticeship she had experienced a bunch of things. Some had not been that great, such as watching Birdsnow die back then, dying herself, getting kidnapped twice, getting injured too many times... but after her recent return, she changed quite a bit and would now make sure such things didn't happen again. Also, she'd try to protect Berrypaw to the best of her abilities while the young shecat wasn't yet able to fend for herself.
The responsibility of being a mentor almost felt like parenting. Not that she knew what parenting was like, but from what she had seen, it was pretty similar. A young cat to take care of. That's what made up mentorship and parenting, right? Ugh, she kept letting herself get sidetracked. Not important, she sent herself as a reminder and turned her attention back to the present. It was two days after the malcontent battle and she was already in a much better shape.
Her pelt was a silver tabby color once more, not stained by the crimson blood of the two cats she had killed. Maybe she would not tell Berrypaw that for now. Mistyshard did not want to scare her apprentice with the idea of death just yet, they'd not even done a first training session. Today she was mainly planning to get to know Berry more and squeeze some training in there as well. They wouldn't rush anything; they still had plenty of time.
The warrior came to a halt in front of Berrypaw's nest and let out a gentle purr. As long as her apprentice was respectful and kind, she would be nice too. There was another side of Mistyshard for sure, but that did not need to be revealed if not called for. "Berry, it's time for your first training session," she mewed in a semi loud tone.
The young apprentice was startled once again, not used to hearing the deft footsteps of warriors — even when they weren't trying to be, all of them were much lighter on their feet than the stumbling Berrypaw. She was certainly fast, but had no training in any sort of harnessing anything.
"O-Oh, hi, Mistyshard." Berrypaw quickly turned around and dipped her head in respectful greeting.
Time for my first training session!? Ahh... Stars! Calm down, Berry, she scolded herself. Her heart rate had picked up but she tipped up her chin, attempting some bravery. Stagheart always had this air of confidence about him — maybe she could learn a thing or two.
Finally, she agreed after a quick breath to settle her heartbeat. "Yeah... training... let's go!"
Swimming was on the agenda today. She'd left Berrypaw the choice between swimming and battle, and the brown apprentice had chosen to explore RiverClan's waters, so that's what they would do for today. She was quite keen to get her fur wet herself. Bathing in water was one of her favourite RiverClan activities, and she wanted to make sure her apprentice was a natural at it. The lionheart offered Berry a soft smile and signaled with a flick of her tail for the young cat to follow her.
"Today we shall be doing swimming, as discussed," she explained while trotting at a slow pace. During their trek to the river they could go over the basics. "Now, it may seem hard at first, but when you've practiced enough you'll feel like a natural at it. Have you done a kit class involving swimming before or are we starting from a blank slate here?" She sort of hoped the latter was the answer because she loved teaching stuff, but even if Berrypaw had gone over the basics of swimming before, there was still lots to learn.
Berrypaw followed Mistyshard as her mentor spoke; had she done any swimming training?
No... I chickened out, she mused silently. But she decided that might be better kept to herself — no need for her mentor to think she was a scaredy-cat already.
"Nope... blank slate," Berrypaw echoed with a sheepish nod. She felt a bit guilty for the answer, knowing a lot of RiverClan kits got a headstart. There'd probably be some already swimming like fishes by the time she'd learned to keep herself afloat.
Don't compare yourself to them, like Stag said, she urged herself. She was somewhat encouraged by Mistyshard's upbeat attitude, though she still felt sort of inadequate to be here.
Right, blank slate! Mistyshard could work with that. As she trotted alongside Berrypaw, she began to explain how swimming worked. This would help them get to the actual swimming part faster. "Worry not, blank slates are great sometimes. Since it's leafbare the water will be pretty cold so just prepare yourself for that. Concentrating on the movements rather than the temperature should help you." She didn't mind the cold too much as long as she curled up in her warm nest after. However, it might be a useful tip for her apprentice. "I'll just go over the basic steps and concepts, if you forget anything I can give you a refresher later on when we're in the water."
She still recalled her first time swimming with Nectarrose. It had been during the cold season as well, but the warrior was a great teacher. Mistyshard decided she would teach Berrypaw in a similar way she'd been taught. "We'll be trying to get you used to the current in small steps. Slowly dip in one paw after the other until you're fully standing in the river. The current will try very hard to sweep you away and you need to fight back." Maybe they could make a little game out of this? Misty didn't know how, but perhaps an idea would come to her when they arrived at the river. That way it would hopefully be a memorable experience for Berrypaw.
"When you've succeeded in that you can make your first steps with swimming. Push yourself forward using your front legs and use your back legs and tail to stabilise yourself. I'll be standing there as a barricade incase you drift too far. You'll probably want to try swimming in the direction of the stream first, then the other way. It will take a bunch of effort to perfect, and it's a lot of physical effort at that."
That seemed like a feasible explanation to Mistyshard, though the practical part of swimming would be more difficult. She tried to gently rest her tail on her apprentice's back and give her an encouraging smile. "I know it might be a lot to grasp for now, but you'll get the hang of it sooner or later. We're not in a rush and it's fine if something takes multiple tries to work out."
"Okay... got it... mmhmm..." Berrypaw nodded along to Mistyshard's words, hoping her nerves would be hidden by her responses. Make sure you can stand in the current. Got it. Then push off with your back paws... no, wait, front. Gah.
Her racing mind relaxed when she felt Mistyshard's tail on her shoulder. The lithe apprentice smiled to herself; not many cats had tried any sort of affectionate comfort on her except for her adopted father of sorts. It was nice that someone else seemed to care, too...
I can do it. I can do it.
Berrypaw tried to silently repeat the information to herself, but her active mind tossed around the words into a scramble. She was nervous, excited... not to mention, part of her was greatly distracted by looking around. She'd never stepped paw out of camp, and it didn't really hit her until now that she was trotting along in RiverClan's territory.
The ground was significantly different out here; her soft paw pads felt several pokes and prods as she ran along pebbles and tough grass. She tried to shield some of her stumbling and amazement, not wanting to appear distracted to her mentor — but her eyes couldn't help but wander around in wonder, capturing the trees and undergrowth in her mind.
/ @starry [ she's a little hyperactive in the head but that's okay XD ]
Soon, they arrived at the rushing river near the center of RiverClan's territory. Mistyshard gestured towards the body of water with a flick of her tail and slowly neared the riverbank. The clean scent of the water was refreshing and she took a few sharp breaths. "Well, here we are," she purred with a nod. She cautiously dipped a paw in and shuddered at the temperature of the water. However, she was sure that with movement, it would not be as drastic. She slipped into the water, standing strong against the current and providing a barrier so that Berrypaw would not be able to pass her and accidentally get lost in the river's depths.
Mistyshard turned her deep amber gaze to her apprentice who had hopefully not gotten into the water yet - she didn't want to rush anything here, and if Berrypaw got injured or worse, she was at charge. "So... just slowly dip a paw in while the rest of your body is still on the dry land. If anything happens, I'll make sure you won't get swept too far. Try to resist the current to the best of your ability and we'll go from there."
She offered the young molly an encouraging smile, curious to see how this would go. First attempts were always exciting, but also this must be quite nerve wrecking for Berry.
"O-Okay... okayokayokay..." Berrypaw mumbled the words to herself as a feeble attempt at self-encouragement. The river rushed in front of her, cold and clean, a daunting force to be reckoned with. She could easily picture herself flailing around, getting caught up in the current and pulled under the waves. Berrypaw had never seen something like this, with such power — she'd only ever lapped at the puddles or wetted moss balls around camp.
She shuffled her restless paws, a nervous habit she'd had ever since kithood. Her eyes flicked to her mentor, giving her a bright smile amidst the nerves wracking through the young cat's body.
Mistyshard's in there... you won't get swept away. Just... step in...
Berrypaw slowly lowered one paw into the water, finally mustering enough courage. Immediately she flinched, instinctively jumping back with a hiss. "Stars — that's cold!" She squeaked, shaking out her paw. Then her cheeks burned underneath her fur like a blush, embarrassment creeping through her. "Heh... sorry..."
The new apprentice slowly ambled back towards the river, having to hype herself up once more. "Okayokayokay...." She whispered to herself, probably sounding like unintelligible garble to her mentor.
After some grueling moments, Berrypaw managed to step fully into the river with two paws, flinching as they met the cold, muddy ground. The current tugged at her and she instinctively flexed her claws, trying to cling to the river floor. But it was fruitless, the misshapen rocks offering no solid ground.
She quickly glanced at Mistyshard, noting her strong stance, and copied it as best she could — at least, for the front two paws. Slightly angled to offer more stability. After some unsteady pawsteps, Berrypaw finally regained her balance, though her legs shook from both fear and the cold.
"Ah... I... got it...?" Berrypaw breathed. The stance was certainly rigid and overcompensative, but she still stood unmoving nonetheless. She was a bit daunted at the thought of going all the way in, the waves lapping just below her sensitive belly. But for now, she looked to her mentor for approval.
A comforting smile was plastered on Mistyshard's maw as she watched her apprentice shuffle her paws nervously. She nodded as if to say "it's going to be alright". Berrypaw was getting into the water, so that was a good sign. A little chuckle escaped from the silver tabby's mouth when Berrypaw squeaked due to the cold. "Indeed it is, but you'll get used to it! Oh- don't be sorry. I don't mind if you say things like that." She purred a little, her one amber eye fixated on Berrypaw.
Okay, good, Berry was fully in the river with two paws. The stance was still shaky, but the apprentice made good efforts to improve that until she was unmoving. Mistyshard furrowed her brows, debating what advice to give. Though the stance was great for starters it was way too rigid and tense. She got closer to the younger molly and once again attempted to rest her tail on Berrypaw's back to let her relax more.
She was blocking any possible way for the apprentice to get swept away, so no problems there. "You're way too tense. It's very amazing for your first time, no complaints there. However, try to loosen up a little, let your muscles relax. Don't focus too much on not moving, focus more on letting the water sweep past you, but you stay balanced and strong."
"Do you want to get fully in, while I'm next to you and steadying you if needed? You don't have to if you do not feel ready yet, of course. But it might help with demonstrating what I mean," she mewed in a friendly tone.
[ @SentimentalSquid short post, sorry, didn't want to keep you waiting any longer ]
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Mistyshard is RiverClan’s current Medicine Cat. She has a semi-closed den policy. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to VM or DM me!
Berrypaw breathed in and out slowly through her nose as Mistyshard spoke. She was still concentrating so hard on not moving that she just barely heard her mentors words... to stop doing just that. Loosen up! As soon as she did she stumbled a little, the current strong against her untrained legs. Yet still, the apprentice felt a little glimmer of pride that it was good for her first time, though she knew the hardest part was still yet to come.
"Right... balanced and strong..." She murmured to herself, looking down at he rushing current over her paws. Berrypaw really felt like neither of those things — rather clumsy and weak. But if she really was doing so well, and Mistyshard was right there to catch her... she should be fine! Right?
The apprentice took in a deep breath to try to settle her quickening heart rate and nodded once. "I'm going all in!" She declared in a sudden rush of bravery.
But the second Berrypaw lifted her supporting leg, she began to wobble. She tried to plant it down on the river floor, only to have her paws swept from underneath her. "Ah!" She gasped as she fumbled, falling into the water with a splash.
Just as she promised, Mistyshard's body was there to block the little cat from tumbling down the stream. Still, the sudden shock of cold stole the breath from Berrypaw and she wildly tried to find the ground for footing. Using her mentor's strong form for support, Berrypaw finally found her foot, still leaning into the warrior.
Her legs wobbled as she stood against the current, able to stand straight up but only because the warrior beside her provided a nice base. Without Mistyshard, Berrypaw would've been flying down the river by now. She said nothing, only concentrating hard on trying to be as "balanced" and "strong" as her mentor was — but it clearly wasn't going as well as she hoped.
berrypaw's training! [p]
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